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Sophomore Map

Fall

- Start familiarizing yourself with the different areas of mechanical engineering and what types of problems each area tries to solve. One way to start this is to browse through various faculty members' pages as well as their lab websites.

- Start thinking about whether or not you would like to have an internship and/or be a undergraduate researcher (on campus or outside). Summer internship fairs start in the Fall.

- Start thinking about your post-graduation plans.

- Do you think graduate school is right for you? If so, try and get research in a lab aligned with your interests and chat with faculty in those areas.

- Do you think you will go straight into industry? Most companies value hands-on experience, so try to find opportunities for this. You also may benefit from Statistics, Economics, Industrial Engineering, or Business courses (among others).

- Go over the Scholarship Connection to see if there are any scholarships you are eligible to apply for and their deadlines.

Spring

- Start thinking about what Technical Electives you would like to take in the Fall based on your interests and post-graduation plans.

- If you are interested in participating in undergraduate research, this is a good semester to start visiting faculty during office hours to see what they'll be working on in the Summer and Fall and to see if they are taking undergraduates into their labs. Bring a current CV/resume.